The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for mechanically interconnecting a housing with a portable vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus and method for interconnecting a housing structure that lacks sanitary facilities with a portable vehicle that has such sanitary facilities and doing so in such a way that the portable vehicle is fully enclosed within the housing structure.
Motor homes, mobile homes and recreational vehicles (collectively referred to as "RVs") have recently enjoyed an increase in popularity. RV's provide a spontaneous mobility that is relatively inexpensive as opposed to a fixed dwelling which is generally more expensive and is immovable. The fixed dwelling, however, provides the owner a relatively spacious living area and is a welcome addition to most communities. In contrast, the disadvantages of RVs involve the rather cramped general living quarters and the question of availability of space at campsites for such large structures.
When building a fixed dwelling, a disproportionately large amount is paid for plumbing, bathroom facilities and kitchen facilities. Approximately 30% to 45% of the cost of the home is dedicated to these necessities. While the RV may be driven away at the owner's whim, the fixed dwelling, particularly in climates which are subject to severe winter conditions, must be "winterized" when temporarily abandoned in favor of warmer climates. Winterizing is necessary when the heat in the fixed dwelling is to be turned off since there will be no occupants. Since there is no heat, the pipes must be drained to prevent the freezing of the pipes contained therein. While this avoids the high cost of heating the home over a winter, there is a significant burden of draining the pipes and then opening the house upon return.
One commercially available system that resolves some of these issues is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,669 entitled "Dwelling Structure" issued Feb. 17, 1981, to Robert F. Freehoff, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,696 entitled "Dwelling Structure" issued Feb. 19, 1985, to Robert F. Freehoff. These patents address a system for interconnecting a permanent dwelling structure with a RV which has kitchen and bathroom facilities. Thus, when the owner of the RV chooses to leave, there is no need to winterize the dwelling structure since the plumbing used by the dwelling structure is disposed in the RV. A disadvantage of this system is that the interconnection between the mobile vehicle and the dwelling structure is through a lateral surface. That is, the mobile vehicle is pulled along side of the dwelling structure and an air tight seal is made between the two to interconnect. However, since these are fixed dwellings, the dwelling structure may not be situated on a lot wide enough to accommodate this kind of interconnection. That is, to keep the cost of the lot and dwelling insubstantial the size of the lot is minimized and/or the size of the structure is maximized to fill the size of the lot. This is particularly evident in RV parks that have lots substantially equal to the width of the RV. The foregoing commercially available structure does not fit in a RV park, and at a minimum would require the dwelling structure to be downsized at least by the width of the RV. Under some circumstances, the foregoing structures may have another disadvantage: the interconnection between the mobile vehicle and the dwelling structure is through a lateral surface. That is, the mobile vehicle is pulled along side of the dwelling structure and an air tight seal is made between the two to interconnect. However, the dwelling structure may not be situated on a lot wide enough to accommodate this kind of interconnection. That is, to keep the cost of the lot and dwelling insubstantial the size of the lot is minimized and/or the size of the structure is maximized to fill the size of the lot. This is particularly evident in RV parks that have lots substantially equal to the width of the RV. The foregoing commercially available structure does not fit in an RV park, and at a minimum would require the dwelling structure to be downsized at least by the width of the RV.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a dwelling structure that lacks sanitary facilities but is adapted to interconnect with the mobile vehicle that contains such sanitary facilities.
It is another object to this invention to provide a RV and dwelling combination which does not decrease the width of the dwelling alone.
It is a further object to this invention to provide a RV and dwelling combination that will fit in RV parks.
These and other objects of the invention will be obvious and will appear hereinafter.